Berliner Weisse style beer made with sorghum and sourdough
Sorghum is cheap, and you can buy it in any South African supermarket. The Negro people use it to make a traditional alcoholic drink called umqombothi
I cannot ferment beer with the normal brewing yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) because my house temperature is 29°C in the summer. So I decided to use my sourdough culture. Sourdough is a symbiotic partnership between acid-loving yeast that likes high temperatures (Candida Humilis) and a lactobacillus (Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis). Under the right conditions, they will successfully out-compete any other micro-organisms. And the optimum sourdough temperature is 28°C, much closer to what we have been experiencing recently.
I use a semi-continuous fermentation process. Every 12 hours, I make 330 ml of beer! I allow the beer to settle for 24 hours. Then I decant 250 ml, add hops, allow to ferment for another 24 hours, then put it into the refrigerator.
I use a semi-continuous fermentation process. Every 12 hours, I make 330 ml of beer! I allow the beer to settle for 24 hours. Then I decant 250 ml, add hops, allow to ferment for another 24 hours, then put it into the refrigerator.
Step by step:
Sorghum starch gelatinizes at a much higher temperature than either wheat or barley. I cannot make a traditional mash with sorghum, because the enzymes denature before the sorghum has gelatinized. I have to separate the enzymes before gelatinizing the sorghum.
I soak the malted sorghum in water at 55°C to extract the enzymes (alpha and beta amylase). Then I decant the extract, and grind the sorghum.
I add wheat flour. My assistant Azimov makes sure that I don't forget anything.
I boil to gelatinize the starch. After cooling to 55°C, I add the enzyme extract, to convert starch to fermentable sugars.
I boil to gelatinize the starch. After cooling to 55°C, I add the enzyme extract, to convert starch to fermentable sugars.
Now I filter off the spent grain. Result: 4 litres of wort and 900 grams of spent grain! Enough for 7 days of making beer using my semi continuous process!
I add a tablespoonful of sourdough starter to a litre bottle of wort, and screw the caps on loosely. Fermentation starts soon after. I always have friendly fruit flies buzzing around the beer. There is no need to protect the fermenting beer with airlocks. The micro-organisms in the sourdough will aggressively suppress the growth of any wild yeast or bacteria that enters my fermenter!
Preparing wort is an 8 hour process. It is a lot more complicated than using a kit. But the results are worth it. The beer is light, and refreshingly sour. Perfect for hot summer days!